This free rainbow blanket crochet pattern is a simple introduction to colour work, beginner friendly, and relaxing using only one stitch. I’m not usually a huge rainbow fan, but I was missing my crochet temperature blanket from last year and wanted to use some of the same colours in a new project so this blanket was born!
This will be a baby blanket for my little one due in a few months, but it is quite a large rainbow crochet blanket so that it will be loved for years to come while they grow.
This pattern uses the intarsia colour changing method, I have some personal tips in the notes section further down but there is some helpful information here too.
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More Free Crochet Patterns
This post is the free rainbow blanket crochet pattern with written row by row steps, the ad-free PDF version comes with a PDF download of the pattern chart in either single page or 2 page split.
Rainbow Blanket Crochet Pattern
What you need to crochet a rainbow baby blanket
- DK acrylic yarn in 5 colours
- 4.5mm
- Scissors and needle for finishing
Yarn amounts:
Colour A: 230g/748yds
B: 95g / 309yds
C: 74g/241yds
D: 62g/203yds
E: 49g/159yds
Any DK acrylic yarn will look great, the specific colours I used are:
Paintbox Yarns Simply DK in Vanilla Cream and Vintage Pink
Stylecraft Special DK in Denim, Cypress and Gold
Concentration Level
Beginner friendly with one stitch used throughout and simple blocks so you can use whichever colour changing method you prefer.
Stitch Terms & Abbreviations
Stitches are in US terms
Chain – ch
Slip Stitch – sl st
Stitch(es) – st(s)
Skip – sk
Half Double Crochet – hdc
Gauge
In 4×4″: 8 rows of 16 hdc
Notes
- Starting chs do not count as a stitch
- Blanket is worked flat in rows, with a turn at the end of every row
- The pattern is written to guide you with the number of stitches in each colour. For e.g, (A) x 30, (B) x 26 means work 30 hdc stitches in colour A followed by 26 hdc stitches in colour B
- I recommend doing your colour changes with bobbins, rather than carrying the unused yarn when not being used. This will keep your blanket light and flexible without thickening the stitches and there are only a handful of rows that require the same colour in more than one section.
- I also suggest caking your yarn before you start using it. Turning your work with multiple yarn skeins attached can easily mess up a half used centre pull skein and it’s more difficult to tidy up when it’s still attached.
- However, feel free to work with colour changes in whatever way you feel most comfortable!
Free Rainbow Blanket Crochet Pattern
Start with ch138 in your base colour (A). Hdc in the 3rd ch from the hook, then follow the below rows or use the chart to complete the rows. The written instructions highlight which direction you’re working in and whether it’s the right side (RS) or wrong side (WS). Each row will have 136 hdc stitches.
← Row 1 [RS]: (A) x 136
→ Row 2 [WS]: (A) x 136
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 up to and including Row 32
← Row 33 [RS]: (B) x 81, (A) x 55
→ Row 34 [WS]: (A) x 54, (B) x 82
← Row 35 [RS]: (B) x 83, (A) x 53
→ Row 36 [WS]: (A) x 52, (B) x 84
← Row 37 [RS]: (B) x 85, (A) x 51
→ Row 38 [WS]: (A) x 50, (B) x 86
← Row 39 [RS]: (B) x 87, (A) x 49
→ Row 40 [WS]: (A) x 48, (B) x 88
← Row 41 [RS]: (B) x 89, (A) x 47
→ Row 42 [WS]: (A) x 46, (B) x 90
← Row 43 [RS]: (B) x 91, (A) x 45
→ Row 44 [WS]: (A) x 44, (B) x 92
← Row 45 [RS]: (B) x 93, (A) x 43
→ Row 46 [WS]: (A) x 42, (B) x 94
← Row 47 [RS]: (B) x 95, (A) x 41
→ Row 48 [WS]: (A) x 40, (B) x 96
← Row 49 [RS]: (C) x 69, (B) x 28, (A) x 39
→ Row 50 [WS]: (A) x 38, (B) x 28, (C) x 70
← Row 51 [RS]: (C) x 71, (B) x 28, (A) x 37
→ Row 52 [WS]: (A) x 36, (B) x 28, (C) x 72
← Row 53 [RS]: (C) x 73, (B) x 28, (A) x 35
→ Row 54 [WS]: (A) x 34, (B) x 28, (C) x 74
← Row 55 [RS]: (C) x 75, (B) x 28, (A) x 33
→ Row 56 [WS]: (A) x 32, (B) x 28, (C) x 76
← Row 57 [RS]: (C) x 77, (B) x 28, (A) x 31
→ Row 58 [WS]: (A) x 30, (B) x 28, (C) x 78
← Row 59 [RS]: (C) x 79, (B) x 28, (A) x 29
→ Row 60 [WS]: (A) x 28, (B) x 28, (C) x 80
← Row 61 [RS]: (C) x 81, (B) x 28, (A) x 27
→ Row 62 [WS]: (A) x 26, (B) x 28, (C) x 82
← Row 63 [RS]: (C) x 83, (B) x 28, (A) x 25
→ Row 64 [WS]: (A) x 24, (B) x 28, (C) x 84
← Row 65 [RS]: (D) x 61, (C) x 24, (B) x 28, (A) x 23
→ Row 66 [WS]: (A) x 22, (B) x 28, (C) x 24, (D) x 62
← Row 67 [RS]: (D) x 63, (C) x 24, (B) x 28, (A) x 21
→ Row 68 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 28, (C) x 24, (D) x 64
← Row 69 [RS]: (D) x 65, (C) x 24, (B) x 27, (A) x 20
→ Row 70 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 26, (C) x 24, (D) x 66
← Row 71 [RS]: (D) x 67, (C) x 24, (B) x 25, (A) x 20
→ Row 72 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 24, (C) x 24, (D) x 68
← Row 73 [RS]: (D) x 69, (C) x 24, (B) x 23, (A) x 20
→ Row 74 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 22, (C) x 24, (D) x 70
← Row 75 [RS]: (D) x 71, (C) x 24, (B) x 21, (A) x 20
→ Row 76 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 20, (C) x 24, (D) x 72
← Row 77 [RS]: (D) x 73, (C) x 24, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 78 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 23, (D) x 74
← Row 79 [RS]: (D) x 75, (C) x 22, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 80 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 21, (D) x 76
← Row 81 [RS]: (D) x 12, (E) x 35, (D) x 30, (C) x 20, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 82 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 30, (E) x 37, (D) x 11
← Row 83 [RS]: (D) x 10, (E) x 39, (D) x 29, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 84 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 28, (E) x 41, (D) x 9
← Row 85 [RS]: (D) x 8, (E) x 43, (D) x 27, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 86 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 26, (E) x 45, (D) x 7
← Row 87 [RS]: (D) x 6, (E) x 47, (D) x 25, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 88 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 24, (E) x 49, (D) x 5
← Row 89 [RS]: (D) x 4, (E) x 51, (D) x 23, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 90 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 22, (E) x 53, (D) x 3
← Row 91 [RS]: (D) x 2, (E) x 55, (D) x 21, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 92 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 20, (E) x 57, (D) x 1
← Row 93 [RS]: (E) x 59, (D) x 19, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 94 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 19, (E) x 59
← Row 95 [RS]: (E) x 59, (D) x 19, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 96 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 19, (E) x 59
← Row 97 [RS]: (E) x 22, (A) x 15, (E) x 22, (D) x 19, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 98 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 19, (E) x 21, (A) x 17, (E) x 21
← Row 99 [RS]: (E) x 20, (A) x 19, (E) x 20, (D) x 19, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 100 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 19, (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19
← Row 101 [RS]: (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19, (D) x 19, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 102 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 19, (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19
← Row 103 [RS]: (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19, (D) x 19, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 104 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 19, (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19
← Row 105 [RS]: (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19, (D) x 19, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 106 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 19, (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19
← Row 107 [RS]: (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19, (D) x 19, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 108 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 19, (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19
← Row 109 [RS]: (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19, (D) x 19, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 110 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 19, (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19
← Row 111 [RS]: (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19, (D) x 19, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 112 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 19, (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19
← Row 113 [RS]: (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19, (D) x 19, (C) x 19, (B) x 19, (A) x 20
→ Row 114 [WS]: (A) x 20, (B) x 19, (C) x 19, (D) x 19, (E) x 19, (A) x 21, (E) x 19
For the full rainbow blanket crochet pattern with written row by row steps, and a PDF download of the pattern chart in either single page or 2 page split, check out your favourite pattern store below.
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